First Day
This is part of The Apprentices series. ''Lakepaw - The Dark Forest -'' I survey my mother coolly. "And if I don't want to go?" She narrows her eyes. "There is no choice Lakepaw. You have ''to go. I'm sorry, but now that you're an apprentice, you have to attend classes down by the lake just like everyone else. And who knows? Maybe you'll make some friends and learn to enjoy it." "Yeah right," I mutter. "Fine." I know there's no fighting it. I've been dreading this day for a long time. While the other apprentices in MoonClan, FlowerClan, and my own clan, SlateClan have been looking forward to this, I sulked in the back. Mother says that's not "healthy" but I don't care. It's just a bit popular contest, this Warrior Academy. I hate it already. With a sigh, I head out into the camp where the other SlateClan apprentices, Hootpaw, Grasspaw, and Longpaw are waiting. Longpaw, who is all talk and no brains, is boasting about all the great things he'll do at the academy. He turns and spots me, a smirk appearing on his oversized mouth. "Well, if it isn't the amazing Lakepaw. So you're not too high and mighty to go to the Warrior Academy with us regular cats after all." I grit my teeth and ignore him, which is easier said then done. Longpaw is chief leader of AnnoyingClan, and he exerts his power regularly. Hootpaw looks anxious; he's too timid and shy for my liking. I don't talk to other cats either, but it's because I ''choose ''not to, not because I'm afraid. Grasspaw is busy grooming her glossy dark gray pelt, which is all she ever does. "Ready to go?" asks our deputy, Lynxpelt. Her gold pelt shines brilliantly in the morning sun. Even I have to admit that she's gorgeous, in a scary kind of way. The others nod. I remain motionless. "Let's go." She leads the way out of the camp. I wait for the others to go before tailing the group. Our territory is rather dark and gloomy, which is just the way I like it. Most of it is dark and shadowy woods, full of squirrels, lizards, and other prey if you know how to find them. At the edge of our territory, it opens up to the lake, and our stretch of the beach. However, all the clans have decided that the entire beach is neutral, so that's where most of Warrior Academy's training takes place. When we arrive, I spot a cluster of young cats farther down the shore, by the MoonClan shore. MoonClan's part of the beach is mysterious and beautiful. Ours is craggy, littered with sharp rocks that stretch out to sea. FlowerClan, to our other side, sports cheerful tan sand with clumps of grass and even a few wildflowers. Disgusting. Lynxpelt gestures towards them. "That's where you'll be meeting today. I'll leave you guys here. Have fun!" The others run ahead, chattering excitedly. I glare daggers at her retreating back. When it has no effect, I turn and follow them, making sure to paste the sourest look I can muster on my face. If they're going to force me into this Dark Forest of a place, I don't have to like it. Cloverpaw - You Don't Know Me -'' "Wow! You look exactly like your sister did when she was an apprentice! Cloverpaw, right?" I give the tom, our new fighting instructor, a tight-lipped smile. "Yes," I say. School hasn't even started yet and already Sweetmeadow's legacy is dominating my life. No matter how good I am, I can't escape her shadow. I catch Blossompaw staring at me and shrug it off. The cream she-cat looks up to me, and I'm not going to let her down by being a bore, especially not today. "Let's go make some new friends," I say. She nods eagerly, as always, and I lead the way to where the apprentices have gathered. Over on the edge of the circle, a silver she-cat watches, her pale blue eyes cool and aloof. Not my kind of cat. I search the crowd for someone more friendly and lock in on a spirited ginger she-cat who is flirt-flighting with a black tom. Making my way towards her, the tom looks up. For a second he gazes at me out of two different colored eyes before the she-cat bowls him over. "Hello," I purr, signaling for Blossompaw to follow my lead. The ginger she-cat hops off the black tom and nods her head to me. "Hey," she says in a bright voice, her amber eyes vibrant with life. I feel a smile coming on. It looks like I've met my new best friend. Don't get me wrong, I like Blossompaw and all. But she's not the most interesting companion, if you know what I'm saying. "I'm Gingerpaw." "Cloverpaw," I say, waving my tail in greeting. "And this is Blossompaw." "I'm Shockpaw," meows the black tom. He looks past us to where a gray tabby tom is gesturing him over. "And I'm out of here. Later." He flicks his tail across Gingerpaw's back and scampers off. She lets out a fake hiss of annoyance. "Nice to meet you Out of Here!" I call. Gingerpaw smirks. "Are you guys from MoonClan?" I ask. She nods. "FlowerClan right?" She grins when I confirm it. "I could just tell. You guys are just so peppy. Everyone says I should be in FlowerClan too, because I'm like that. I tell them to go to the Dark Forest. No offense." I raise my eyebrow cockily, but before I can fire back a comment that will establish us as equals in wit and humor, Blossompaw speaks up softly. "I think I'll go over there," she says, gesturing to a quiet corner where only a tortoishell she-cat sits. "Bye!" I wave my tail, wondering why she's going over to a complete stranger. Not that I mind, but she usually never leaves my side. I'd thought it would be a thousand times worse in a new environment. With a shrug, I turn to my new friend. "So have you heard anything about the teachers here?" she asks. I nod proudly. "My sister already went here. You must know her. She's the deputy of FlowerClan now. Sweetmeadow?" She nods, obviously not detecting any trace of bitterness that might have seeped through my delicate defense system. "I hear Cherrybloom, our tracking and herbs teacher, is really nice. And that tom over there, Brushtail, is our fighting instructor. He's stubborn, but nice enough. Last but not least, Stealthfur, that dark gray she-cat over there, she's our hunting instructor. I don't know much about her; she's new." "Cool," Gingerpaw smiles. Just then Cherrybloom, a reddish-brown she-cat, steps into the middle of the clearing. "Okay everyone. It's time to start." I exchange glances with Gingerpaw. "Well," I say. "What are we waiting for?" ''Mottlepaw - A Freak Show -'' I smile warmly at the cream she-cat staring at me with wide eyes. She obviously didn't see me fully before coming over, and I guess she regrets it now. Still, I put on a kind smile. I'm used to this; ignoring the prickle of tears behind my eyes, pretending this is completely normal, and I've gotten over people acting like I'm a freak. "Hi," I say. "I'm Mottlepaw." "Hi," she says, coming out of her trance a little. She gives me a shy smile. "I'm Blossompaw. Nice to meet you. Wait... Aren't you training to be MoonClan's medicine cat?" "Yeah," I say. "But we still have to go to Warrior Academy. We do half our classes with you guys, and then we take special classes. Or," I correct myself, "I take special classes, since there are no other medicine cat apprentices my age in training." "Oh," she says. "Cool. Um, if you don't mind me asking..." "What happened to my leg?" I finish. She blushes. "W-well-" "It's okay," I cut her off. Secretly, I'm relieved she had the guts to ask, instead of just watching me from afar like I'm something to be studied and analyzed. "I was hit by a Monster, driven by Twolegs. My leg was shattered, and I lost a lot of blood. I'm lucky to be alive and able to walk at all. That's part of the reason why I decided to become a medicine cat. I want to heal and help cats like was done for me." I don't say the other reason; I felt so useless stuck in the medicine cat's den not doing anything, and there's no hope of me ever becoming a warrior. "Wow," she says. "You're a really brave cat." I stare at her stunned. I've been called a lot of things: weird, pitiful, hardy, enduring, but never brave. "Thanks," I manage. Blossompaw grins. Then her ears twitch. "That's Cherrybloom; we're about to start. Let's go!" "Okay," I say. She scampers towards the clearing. I grit my teeth and hobble around, ignoring the sharp stabs of pain shooting up my leg. Luckily, she doesn't notice. I don't want any pity from her, nice as she is. Much as I want a real friend, we have to be equals. Cherrybloom stands in the middle, a bracken-colored tom and a dark gray she-cat on either side of her. She looks really nice, and I'm glad, because I'll be taking my special medicine cat course with her. "Hello guys," she meows in a pleasant voice. "And welcome to Warrior Academy. I'm Cherrybloom, your tracking and herbs teacher. This is Brushtail, who teaches fighting, and Stealthfur, who teaches hunting. Before we split you up into classes and tell you your schedules, please give each of us the opportunity to tell you a little about what we teach and what you get to learn." She looked around us. "Tracking is an important skill. It enables you to find and trail prey, especially larger, faster-moving prey like rabbits and hares. But it does more then that. When someone crosses your border, be it cat or badger or fox, you need to know where they are on your territory. Without tracking skills, you would just be on a wild goose chase." Her amber eyes were bright as she talked; I can tell she loves what she teaches. "And then there's herbs. A lot of cats think that only medicine cats need to know about them, but the leaders have discussed this, and agreed that every warrior needs to know a minimum amount of healing. You never know when you'll be caught in an emergency without a medicine cat." Nearby, a couple of toms snicker. One of them whispers to the other, "When will we need to bind up a little scratch?" "I know right," says a black tom, rolling his eyes. I resist the urge to march over to them and give them a piece of my mind. Toms can be so rude sometimes. But I guess I'm used to it. Everyone can, after all. ''Shockpaw - To Herb or Not to Herb? -'' I let out a big yawn as Brushtail finishes yammering about fighting skills and Stealthfur takes over. Her voice is quieter, more mysterious, and for me, easier to pay attention to. Unfortunately, I can't say the same for my friends, and they don't let me hear a word of it. Longpaw stretches and whispers loudly, "Bo-oring." I resist the urge to cuff him around the head, and force a smile. "Yeah," Hootpaw agrees squeakily. He and Longpaw are both from SlateClan, but they couldn't be more different. Longpaw is loud and boisterous, where Hootpaw is quiet and rather sensitive, though he tries to act macho around us. Still, I don't mind having him around. For the most part, I ignore him, and that works out okay, since he's content to just sit with us and mimick everything we do. "So..." Longpaw yawns as the teachers begin asking for questions. "Any pretty she-cats from your clan? There's only one from mine, Grasspaw." He gestures to a glossy-pelted gray she-cat. "Oh, uh, we have Gingerpaw. She's cute, and fiesty too," I add with a forced chuckle. "And then there's Mottlepaw-" Longpaw cuts me off. "The one with the twisted leg? No thanks." I feel my hackles raise. "Well, you don't need to worry about it, because she's a medicine cat anyway. Not that she's stoop as low as you in the first place." The tom's eyes narrow, sizing me up. Then he seems to decide it's not worth a fight, and slugs me lighly. "Very funny Shockpaw." "Then there's Cloverpaw," says a FlowerClan tom called Dicepaw. "She's super-pretty." He points to a light brown tabby-and-white she-cat, and we all nod our agreement. She seems really nice too; laughing and talking with Gingerpaw like old friends. "Toms!" A voice cuts into our conversation. Cherrybloom is waiting impatiently. "Didn't you hear? You have tracking and herbs first. Come with me." Her tone is strict, but her eyes are kind. Before my buddies can do something dumb, I lead the way over to the rest of our class. Cloverpaw and Grasspaw are chatting happily. "Looks like I have fighting," Longpaw groans. "See you guys later." He perks up though, when he sees Gingerpaw among his class. I try not to feel irritated about it. Don't get me wrong, I don't actually have a crush on Gingerpaw. She's gorgeous, I'll admit that, but we grew up together, and she's more like a sister. Would you want your bozo friend hitting on your sister? I didn't think so. That's when I see her. She's standing at the back of the group, but not in a Hootpaw-way. She doesn't blend in, she sticks out, just in her own way, from her icy blue eyes to her moon-washed silver pelt. "Who's that?" "Her? That's Lakepaw. She's in my Clan," Hootpaw says, eager to be of assistance. I nod dazedly. She's gorgeous. Before I can walk over to her, Cherrybloom starts class. She spreads several leafy, strong-smelling plants out in front of us and starts laying out the basics of administration safety and all that. I debate listening to her, then decide she isn't on any important stuff anyway. When Dicepaw and Hootpaw aren't looking, I slip over. "Hey," I say in my most casual voice, flipping on my careless, charming smile. She studies me like I'm a piece of prey. Then she turns away without responding. "I said hey," I snap, louder this time. "I heard you." "Well..." "Well what?" she says, shrugging flippantly. "We're leaving now." Her tone is dry and emotionless, not starstruck. Weird. She walks away. I stare after her. Well. That was a surprise. '' Hootpaw - Love At First Sight -'' I study Shockpaw, trying to mask my curiousity. I had known Lakepaw since we were kits, and she did not ''strike me as his type. Yet here he was, tripping over roots and twigs as we walked, his eyes glued to her like she was all he needed in life. Not that I cared to point that out. Shockpaw was much too high in the social ranking, and I needed to stick close to him if I wanted to survive Warrior Academy. With a sigh, I realize that I'm no one to talk. I'm the one that ran headfirst into a tree when I first saw Cloverpaw. I couldn't help it. One look in those newleaf-colored green eyes, and I melted. Also crumbled. Onto the floor. Because of the tree thing. ''Listen to yourself, ''I think mentally. I feel so pathetic, yet there's nothing I can do about it. I've fallen for lots of pretty cats, but none like this one. Most of them were more like admiring from afar things. I was too scared to actually do anything. But Cloverpaw... the sight of her makes me want to, I don't know, actually talk to her. Which is a big deal, if you're like me. Up ahead, Cherrybloom has stopped. "Okay," she says, turning to face us. "Since it's the first day, all we're going to do is a fun little game. I'm going to give you a partner, and you two will have to complete a task as fast as you can. You'll need teamwork to do so, so I'll expect all of you to work together. Hopefully, this will help you get to know each other and make some new friends." Shockpaw stops mooning over Lakepaw long enough to roll his eyes and snicker with Dicepaw. They obviously think this is just a dumb game, and I do too, but for different reasons. Whoever I get partnered with, they won't like it, and it'll just be awkward. I know that much from nursery games back at SlateClan's camp. Pushing away those memories, I focus on the teacher. She's already begun dividing us up. Dicepaw and Shockpaw get paired up, which they seem happy about, and which totally isn't fair. How come things always work out for you if you're charming and handsome? "Hootpaw and..." she glances around at the group of cats. "Lakepaw." Before either of us can say or do anything, Shockpaw steps forward. "That's not right Cherrybloom." He ducks his head, as if embarrased, and puts on a sincere, respectful face. "They're in the same clan, so they already know each other." Cherrybloom gives a warm smile. "Oh I see. Thank you Shockpaw. How about this then? Shockpaw and Hootpaw, and Dicepaw and Lakepaw." Shockpaw's jaw tightens, and his green eye flashes, but his blue one remains as sweet as always. Weird. "Okay," he says, tight-lipped. Dicepaw is grumbling, obviously mad that Shockpaw got them separated, but the black tom seems too far away to care. He pads over to me, taking me in with one glance. "Hey," I say cautiously. "Hey. Let's do this. What's our challenge?" he asks Cherrybloom. "You two? Hm... Let's see. Well, since you're a couple of strong toms, how about a toughie? You two have to get me a robin's egg." Shockpaw stares at her. "A robin's egg." "Yes. It's not as easy as it sounds. You have to stalk, locate, pinpoint-" She closes her mouth with a snap. "But I can't tell you everything, now. Get to it!" "Okay," we sigh in unison. I turn to my partner. "Where should we start?" "Easy," he shrugs. "Find a robin." I roll my eyes. "Well, when you put it like that-" He's already ahead of me, so I hurry to catch up. This'll be interesting at least, if not fun. "There," Shockpaw motions with his tail. A small, red-breasted bird with bright eyes is perched on a tree, a piece of grass clutched in its beak. I can't believe our luck. The grass must be for its nest; we've hit the jackpot with just one try. All we have to do now is follow it. Dropping into crouches, we slink along the grass, painstakingly stalking the bird as it flits from tree to tree overhead. Just when I think the crick in my neck from looking up will kill me, it stops. And goes up. And up. And up. "Great," I manage to gasp as we sit looking up at the tall oak tree. The robin watches us keenly, its pleasant chirping now aggravatingly close to laughter in my ears. "We have to climb that?" I take one look at Shockpaw, who's already kicking up dirt, eager for the challenge, and know that he's going to do it. "Stay down here," he instructs. "Don't fall," I say meekly. He nods, springs up, and begins ascending the trunk towards the sky. Lakepaw - Butterflies -'' Is it possible to get expelled from Warrior Academy? Would hitting your mouse-brained partner over the head with a dead log be enough to do so? Nah, I decide. I'd probably get kicked out of SlateClan then, and despite my greviances about this torture chamber they call a "school", I do love my clan and parents. Instead I settle for shooting death glares at Dicepaw. That usually works, and he's no exception. "What?" he asks, shifting from paw to paw. "Come on Lakepaw. We've got to find porridge or whatever." I stare at him. Is he serious? Well, now we know who's going to fail this class. "It's borage," I say each syllable slowly, as if talking to a half-deaf kit. He rolls his eyes. "Okay Miss Smarty. Do you know where it is, or what it looks like?" I close my eyes and block out the drone of his annoying voice, reaching back into my memory. Borage, borage, borage... ''there! It's when I was a kit, curled up against my mother's soft dappled gray fur. Our medicine cat, Creamsky, ripping off blue and pink flowers and chewing up the stems... "Got it!" I exclaim. "Look for small green plants with blue and pink flowers." "Got it," he said. "Small plants with blue and pink flowers." He raised his head and began scouring the treetops overhead, as if the answer lay in the heavens above. Stifling a rude remark, I stalked ahead, keeping my eyes out for anything resembling my memory of the plant. Dicepaw hurries to catch up, but I don't bother to wait for him. Lashing my tail in frustration, I make my way down to the lakeshore. Surely there'll be some plants there. The beach stretches away on either side of us, azure blue waves beating against the shore. With a groan, I realize which part of it we're most likely to find what we're looking for in. FlowerClan. "Come on," I snap, not wanting to explain everything to him. "We'll probably find what we're looking for on that side. FlowerClan," I spit the name out with disgust. Dicepaw glares back at me. "Hey! That's my Clan!" "All the more reason to hate it," I mutter under my breath. But Dicepaw doesn't hear me, because he's run ahead, yelling something incoherent over his shoulder. Rolling my eyes, I follow at my own pace. When I reach him, he's holding a wad of green in his mouth, which he promptly spits into my paws, wiping his mouth and making a face. I hiss. "Sorry," he says nonchalantly. "Is this it?" I bend my nose to it, and nod. "Good job. You actually did something right. But I'm not taking this disgusting clump back." Reaching behind him, I gingerly clip several more sprigs of borage, the pink buds tickling my nose. Dicepaw does the same, and we turn around. "Come on. We need to get back quickly if we want to be first." I stifle a sigh of relief when we enter an empty clearing. We're first! "We got the borage!" I announce to Cherrybloom. She smiles and inspects the plant. I hold my breath. "Yes, this is it. Very good you two." I ignore her smile and walk over to sit down by a bush, as far away from my dear partner as possible. Dicepaw is too busy poking a beetle to notice. "Are we first?" a voice crows. Shockpaw and Hootpaw walk in. "Aw man. I can't believe we lost to ''Dicepaw," ''sulks Shockpaw. To my utter shock and revulsion, my stomach feels like it's full of butterflies when I see him. What in StarClan? "You're too late. We won," I say triumphantly. He narrows his eyes and stalks away to flirt with Grasspaw, who tosses her fur and giggles like a moron. Now it's my turn to narrow my eyes. What is he doing with her? Not that I care. That jerk means nothing to me. ''And the butterflies? Overrated. ''Cloverpaw - Sugar 'n Spice -'' Nodding absently as Grasspaw prattles on and on about what a jerk Longpaw is to her(you can totally tell she likes him, and vice versa), I stroll leisurely after Cherrybloom as she leads us back to the main strip of beach where we meet. Interrupting a thrilling story about a nettle in her nest, I ask Grasspaw, "What do you think our next class will be?" "Huh? Oh, I don't know. Maybe fighting." She giggles. "Our instructor's really cute, isn't he?" I roll my eyes. "In your dreams. He's all mine." Laughing, the two of us sit down next to Gingerpaw, who is in a spirited debate with Longpaw about whether he is a dung-head or not. Guess what side she's on. "Hey," I greet her, licking a white paw causually. She gives me a quick nod before returning to the argument. I sigh and look around. The teachers are busy yelling at a group of toms, led by Shockpaw, who are too busy laughing and shoving each other to pay attention to the reprimand anyway. Only one tom stands a little to the side, his yellow eyes thoughtful. Then he turns and meets my gaze, and, though I can't be sure from afar, I swear he blushes. Then he stares at his paws. I nudge Gingerpaw. "Who's that tom?" I ask, gesturing to the brown tabby. She shrugs. "How should I know? He looks too quiet anyway." Rolling my eyes, I'm about to go ask him myself, when Blossompaw pads up to me. "Hi Cloverpaw." She's with another she-cat, a tortoishell with amber eyes. Slowly my gaze travels down to her leg, and I wince and look away hastily. She notices, and I feel awful, but I can't help it. It's twisted in what looks like a very painful way, and I can't imagine what happened to cause it. Turning back to Blossompaw, I mew, "Hey. What's up?" "Not much. I had hunting," she explains. "It was pretty cool. Stealthfur's hardcore, and she's got kind of a weird way of teaching, but she's fun too." "Nice," I comment. "I hope we get her next." Steeling my nerves and telling myself not to be a baby, I turn back to Mottlepaw. "Hi, I'm Cloverpaw." She gives a small, hopeful smile. "Mottlepaw. I'm from MoonClan, and I'm a medicine cat apprentice. That's probably why we haven't met so far." I grin brightly. "Well, now we have. I'm from FlowerClan, but you could've guessed that." Gingerpaw laughs, butting in. "You bet." "Shut up," I retort, shoving her. We all laugh, and then the teachers call us back together again. As they divide us up into classes again, I notice Mottlepaw hobbling after Cherrybloom. "Hey," I call. "I thought you just had herbs and tracking." She blushes. "Cherrybloom doesn't teach this period, which is why the classes are bigger. Well, she does teach, but not you guys. I have to take a special extra course for medicine cats instead of fighting, which is fine with me." She gestures to her leg. My eyes widen in surprise; how can she just be so causual about it? But I see the warm easy-goingness in her eyes, and break into a smile. "Cool," I say. "Have fun." "Thanks!" After she's gone, I turn back to find Brushtail staring at me in exasperation. "Cloverpaw, right? You're in my class. Come on. ''This is the third time I've called your name." Detecting a few muffled giggles and whispers among the other students, I blush, too embarassed to play it cool, and pad hurriedy to the back of the group. Shockpaw is standing erect, his eyes focused on something else. I follow his gaze to a gorgeous silver tabby she-cat. How come I haven't met her yet? She definitely ''looks ''like one of us. Popular. Pretty. But there's something different, obviously. Grasspaw and Gingerpaw are standing in her group, yet neither of them talk to her, nor vice versa. With a shrug, I turn away. Shockpaw's love life is no particular interest of mine. He's cute, but so not my type. Hootpaw on the other hand... I search for him in the crowd, and almost give up when I realize he's in my group. Mentally slapping myself, I study him out of the corner of my eye. He's studying the ground intently, his sunny eyes thoughtful. Padding over, I meow, "Hey." "Uh..." He looks up in surprise, then stumbles a few steps backwards, like I'm some sort of crazy monster. "H-hi. Cloverpaw right?" I nod. "You're Hootpaw. Glad to see-" "Attention everyone! Since Cherrybloom's giving a class today, we thought we'd have a special substitute to give you your extra class for the day. You're in for a special treat now guys. Everyone, please welclome, the FlowerClan deputy, Sweetmeadow!" I catch my breath, feeling the color drain from my face as all the other apprentices turn awestruck gazes to the pretty ginger-and-white she-cat who waltzes in. Flashing a charming smile, she meows, "Hey sis." Narrowing my eyes, I think, ''So that's how she wants it? Not even letting me have my first day at Academy to myself? Fine. Two can play that game. As she introduces herself, I wonder how to get back at her when I'm not even in her class. Ah well. I'll figure something out. We're both catty, and while I might not be as "perfect" as her, I've learned a trick or two. Watch out Sweetmeadow! Rawr. '' Mottlepaw - Touch The Stars - '' For someone so peppy and popular, Cloverpaw looks dangerously close to vomiting. At least, that's what it looks like to me. I can't be sure, because I only get a glimpse of her face as I follow Cherrybloom out of the clearing. This confuses me slightly; I was pretty sure Sweetmeadow was her sister, but I brush it off. I have more important things to consider, like my very first day of real medicine cat training. "What are we going to work on?" I ask. Cherryblooms smiles warmly at me. She seems really easy to get along with. I have a feeling this is going to be a fun class, even if it's just the two of us. "We'll spend the first part of our training gathering herbs, then for the second half we'll identify and divide them up," she says. "You can take some back to MoonClan at the end of the day if you want." "Really? Cool!" I hobble a little faster. Maybe other apprentices think it's weird that I can get so excited about a few scraps of leaves, and maybe it is, but I can't help it. Being a medicine cat is the only way left for me to actually be of use to cats, and I'm determined to put as much flourish into it as possible. Being bitter and sulking never got anyone anywhere, and I don't aim to follow that path, no matter how many cats pity me, or act like I'm below them. I'm not, and I know it in my heart. Still, sometimes it's hard- "Here," Cherrybloom says, interrupting my thoughts. She points with her tail to a thick clump of sharp-scented leaves. Catmint. When I say its name, she nods. "Do you know how to harvest it best?" Shaking my head sheepishly, I say, "No." "That's okay, it's what I'm here to teach you." Bending down, she shows me the different ways to harvest it, depending on what you want it for, and if you want the leaves, the roots, or the juices. We continue through the woods, taking samples of various plants, till we get back to the hollow where we had the herbs class. Cherrybloom spreads out the various plants around us in a wide semicircle, and asks me to identify them. "Feverfew, borage, burdock root, chamomile..." I scrunch up in concentration, eyeing a bundle of small yellow flowers. "Er... horsetail!" "You got it," she praises. Suddenly, I hear a twig crack. Cherrybloom does too, and she frowns. "Brushtail? Very original, but I won't fall for it again." Silence, then another twig snap. This time there's an edge to my mentor's voice. "Seriously. Stop it." The bushes part, and I gasp as a full-grown badger steps out, sunlight glinting off it's silvery back. It raises one giant paw, and I cower in fear, defenseless. I'm going to die. ''At that moment, I forget everything, including what little fight training I have. All I can think is, ''This is it. I'm not going to just speak with StarClan, I'm going to join them. '' I can already touch the stars. Shockpaw - Hot Stuff -'' Not to herb, I decide. While Cherrybloom blathers on and on about how well we did, and how she hopes this taught us about teamwork, I slip away. Not only do I not particularly care about herbs, I need some time to think abuot Lakepaw. Yes, she seems completely disinterested, and falling all over her to make her like me is going to make me seem way uncool. But I can't help it. There's something so real about her that attracts me... It's not fair. The one she-cat I truly think I'm falling for hates me.